WASHINGTON  A House panel has approved legislation that would greatly curtail when veterans deemed mentally incompetent are reported to the FBIs background check system.

--snip--

But the House Committee on Veterans Affairs approved legislation requiring a judges order before a veterans name is submitted to the database. Lawmakers said veterans who are not a threat to harm themselves or others should not be denied a constitutional right to buy and possess guns.

The second amendment says that the rights of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. I guess that means that crazy folks, criminals and stressed out veterans ain’t “the people” no mo’!

9
posted on 05/09/2013 11:48:10 AM PDT
by JimRed
(Excise the cancer before it kills us; feed &water the Tree of Liberty! TERM LIMITS, NOW & FOREVER!)

This depends on how the judge does the process. If each case is adjuciated, then maybe it’s OK. If the judge waves the judicial wand over the whole database, it’s bad. Procedural vs substantive due process.

This thing about veterans and guns is not new. When my Dad had Alzheimer’s 5 years ago and began to forget to pay his bills, I legally became his guardian. It wasn’t any time at all before the gub’mint sent him a form saying “now that you are incompetent, you no longer have a right to own a gun”. But that was because he was legally declared incompetent to handle his own affairs...now it looks as if just being a veteran may be enough to lose your rights.

14
posted on 05/09/2013 12:33:25 PM PDT
by Sender
(It's never too late to be who you could have been.)

It’s the crackpot, radical, Leftist idiots that are the problem, NOT the vets. The Left released them from institutionalization back in the fifties, and sixties so they could have more voters obliged to them.

The Left has been planting their kind in the Judicial system for decades. Way too many of the Judges are Leftist activists now. I don’t see how this law will help other than legitimize Leftist Judges activism.

Cops in TX already have to go through a full mental health screening, which includes testing and doctor evals, and a full background check before being licensed or even allowed into a police academy. I don’t know about all states, but I’m sure their laws are similar. I do know that in TX there is NO “cop loophole”!

As a veteran, I thank your father for his service to our country and commend you for your loyalty & duty. My wife’s mother succumbed to Alzheimer’s and she too is at risk but it is a crying shame how the government now uses peoples’ infirmities as a lever to exert power over them.

If forgetting to pay your bills means mental incompetence I should have been sent up long ago. My wife forgets some small thing and she thinks it’s all over. We are being manipulated to believe that occasional lapses mean it’s time for the nanny state to intervene with an iron boot.

This is a hot issue with a lot of vets who really need treatment but avoid it as they don’t want to lose their right to own a gun.

I read the article and discussed it with my wife who is a VA MD psychiatrist with over twenty years experience as a psychiatrist working with veterans. This will be a problem as these vets will become homeless and disappear into oblivion just to keep their weapons. Their gun is their security blanket, and rightfully so as often it has saved their lives in the worst of the worst situations.

The VA administration had their MD’s under the impression that they would not lose their guns for a financial fiduciary matter. This article stated that was not the case.

If a person’s inability to handle their finances causes a person to be unfit for owning a gun, most of our current government should not own or influence people who do own a gun!

In my Dad's case, he really was found "incompetent" by a judge, because that unfortunately is what happens when someone else (me) states that he can no longer pay his bills. It doesn't mean that he would have been unsafe with a gun. However, that's how the government sees things. I fear that veterans will be afraid to seek mental help if they have PTSD or depression now, because then they would be added to "the list".

24
posted on 05/10/2013 8:18:46 AM PDT
by Sender
(It's never too late to be who you could have been.)

My wife & I are retired military. She outranks me officially - no big deal. She can still outscore me with the .45 automatic - now that gets my goat!

Kidding aside, our trips to the local VA hospital have not been encouraging. VA physicians are starting to ask invasive lifestyle questions including gun possession, alcohol use, how often do you exercise, etc.

Obamacare will turn doctors into government informants and the perception that we are becoming a police state is growing rapidly. Previously, whenever I bought a gun I discretely conveyed it into my house simply to reduce the possibility of theft. Now, I have to consider liberal neighors who don’t like my views as potential snitches.

“To report an illegal gun, call this toll free number, and you don’t have to give your name!”

25
posted on 05/10/2013 8:44:03 AM PDT
by elcid1970
("The Second Amendment is more important than Islam.")

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